Ste-Marie-aux-Mines is a small city which was just behind the German frontlines, which ran through the Vosges towards the Swiss border.
On the hills surrounding Ste-Marie-aux-Mines many relics can still be found. Different types of bunkers, breastworks, underground shelters, a mosaic traces of kabelbahnen…
Hereby an overview of the most interesting relics
A tablet made by the Landsturm Infanterie Bataillon Passau 1. They spend time in this sector from October 1914 until January 1916. They also left a beautiful mosaic.
The tablet was destroyed some years ago by vandals, but has been replaced with a new one. It reads:
Waffe und Werkzeug
Kämpften den Kampf
Schuten den Schutzwall
Der Heimat zum Hüter
Hielten den Bachwacht
Dem Welschen zur Wehr.
There seems to be a mistake in the text on the new plate. On an original photo (which cannot be posted here due to copyrights) it does not say ‘Hielten die Bachwacht’ but ‘Hielten die Hochwacht’.